Estee Lauder Ideal Light Brush-On Illuminator Review...

This is going to be a rave review right from the off. I have not been getting as much sleep as I need lately what with uni exams looming along with too many deadlines. I am one of those people who get black bags under my eyes the moment I start to feel tired  so after a few weeks of little sleep I needed a serious pick me up concealer. My lovely boyfriend (who while may not understand, puts up with my makeup obsession) treated me to a new one and so I headed off to the Estee Lauder counter as I am a fan of their fantastic Double Wear foundation so I knew they could do heavy duty (which was needed).  The lady at the counter was really helpful and tried the Ideal Light Brush-On Illuminator , I was skeptical as it didn't seem the kind of product that would cover under eye dark circles. How wrong I was...

This product covers them exceptional well while still retaining a natural look. It doesn't at all look cakey. For an illuminating product it has amazing coverage. It is in the same style as the infamous YSL touche eclat. Having never tired that I cannot make a comparison. I love the colour of the packaging which is rose gold ( a current love at the moment) it looks like a really expensive product and looks especially pretty in my makeup bag. This Estee Lauder Ideal Light Brush-On Illuminator is brilliant it looks luxe and delivers, what more could you ask for?  It retails for £23 but is worth the investment. I feel this will be a firm favorite in the month of march and throughout the exam period. 

What is your favorite way to banish dark circles?

My week in pictures...

From left to right , Brighton Pavilian at night / Kodaline gig in Brighton which was amazing / Another photo from Koadaline. 

Burger and chips in an american diner / Biggest milkshake ever with a refill in a bucket!/ New ankle boots from topshop which I have worn almost every day

 Essie polishes / Nice warm fire in a local pub/ The most amazing brownie I have ever eaten 

Other random things I have been loving is this candle from Yankee in the scent Be Thankful  it smells so sweet but in a good warming kind of way (if that makes any kind of sense) I always have a candle burning when I'm doing my Uni work it just seems to relax me.

I have recently made quite a few new purchases which I can't wait to review and share with you! Hope you all had a good weekend. 

Is anybody else obsessed with these candles?

Lush haul...

I have to confess that this was actually my first purchase ever from lush! While many people rave about it I just didn't get it. This is not to say that I don't often go in just to look at all the pretty things they have on offer I just have never felt the need to spend £5 on a bath bomb before. As lush while not mega expensive is not exactly cheap either.  The reason I went in was to have a look at the MUMKIN bath boom because they are just so cute. I ended up buying one but I'm not sure I will even be able to use it because it looks so sweet!

The staff in lush were so helpful and really gave me an insight into all the different products. I don't know if it is just me but when I feel like I have taken up a lot of the shop assistants time I feel bad only buying one thing. So I also brought the BUBBLE BAR which is infamously talked about along with a LITTLE BOT bath bomb which is also an unnecessary but rather cute little buy. I will do reviews on these when I have used them. 

They have lots of new products out for mothers day and Easter which I am sure if you love Lush you have already checked out. I especially love the look of the soap with the eggs in but it didn't smell as nice as I would have thought or I am sure I would have ended up with a chunk of that as well. So many of the Easter releases are bath bombs that have another bath bomb inside or lots of sparkle. While I really wanted to try them I couldn't justify the £7 for one bath bomb. 

What is your favorite Lush product?

Estee Lauder DayWear review...

They say " Super Anti-Oxidant Complex DayWear helps safeguard skin with advanced broad-spectrum sunscreen and our best UVA defense. Reduces the appearance of first signs of ageing, like dullness and fine, dry lines."

At the age of 21 I don't think I am quite the target market for this product and therefore, may not be able to see what this product can truly deliver.  Nevertheless I enjoyed using this product a lot. The packaging is nice although I think for the price of £39 it would have been nice to have it in a glass jar. It was the scent of this cream that first hit me, it has the distinct sent of cucumber so if you don't like that then stay away. Cucumber to me make me feel fresh and awake and so it was a hit. It sunk into the skin splendidly feeling thick but not over loading on the skin. It didn't leave any nasty residue either. I wouldn't say it was hugely hydrating and is much more for combination skin than dry. 

One thing that stuck me was they recommend you use it morning and night yet is has an SPF 15 so does not strike me as a product for night time use. On a positive side at least you only need one cream to do both your am and pm routine which for the price I would hope so. 

overall 

Fragrence  5/5

Packaging 4/5

Hydration 3/5

Visible effects 3/5

Price 3/5

What is your favorite day time moisturiser? 

Eatee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Review...

I got a sample of this in a gift with purchase that I got from Estee Lauder which I talked about here. Now I think the Advanced Night Repair Eye cream isn't really targeted at my age group nevertheless I have had very dry skin over the winter months. Having dry skin can sometimes make my concealer look a little cakey so I smoothed a bit of this on over night and it worked wonders on my dry skin leaving it super soft. It didn't get rid of my dark circles (Due to final year uni deadlines, anyone else in the position?) but then I don't think the cream is supposed to.  

As you can see from the bottom picture it is more likely a thick oily gel than a cream. It is almost greasy in texture however, the benefit of this is that a little goes a long way I only used the smallest dab ever on each eye and it spreads under the eye area so easily and smoothly. Even though it is pricey because you need so little I guess it justifies the price. I think I might use this every few days to tackle dryness as it is too rich for me to use every day. 

Does anyone have any recommendations for an eye cream to banish dark circles?

Revlon Cherries In The Snow Review...

This is a Lipstick I brought a while back but really love. Revlon's  Cherries In The Snow is a  beautiful red that still has a strong hue of pink. This therefore makes wearing it less scary than a full on pillar box red lippy. While I am blonde I think this colour would look amazing on brunettes.The picture above make my one look like it has been in the wars but, the lid fell off in my bag on a night out. They do a matching nail varnish in the same colour which without stating the blindingly obvious is a very nice cherry colour. It applies nicely to the lips with a slightly gloss finish and I like to wear it with a clear gloss over the top with a simple eye for a really nice statement lip without being too out there.  I have added the picture of a really red lippy to try and show you the pink hues of this one.

What is your favorite red lipstick?

Current beauty blow out wishes

1. YSL Rouge volupte lipsticks are always something that I have lusted over their luxe packaging is  just divine. I would be more than happy to find a place for one or two of these beauties however, my bank balance would not be so happy about this little splurge. One day though...

2. The Urban Decay Naked Basic Palette just seem to scream essential to me. I think I would forever reach for this for months to come. I don't even think it is a bad price at £20. I could definitely justify this far more than a YSL lipstick. 

3. The OZ Glinda palette is another perfect palette from Urban Decay it is just so pretty to look at. It retails for £35 so I wont be grabbing this any time soon.

4. The OZ Theodora Palette (can any one see a theme happening here) is yet again a palette form Urban decay. It might just be me but I feel that until Urban Decay introduced their new build your own palettes these would have just been combined into one book of shadows, like the amazing Alice in wonderland one,  for about £35-40 making them really good value and a payday treat. 

What would be your beauty blow out if money wasn't an issue?

Estee Lauder Gift with purchase...

Estee Lauder are currently doing a gift with purchase in Debenhams. I was at the Estee Lauder counter the other day picking up a new concealer which I will be doing a rave review on soon. I didn't expect to receive this and was super excited when I did. I will most likely review all the products on my blog in due course when I have had a chance to test them all out. I was just so excited to share with you this amazing offer. I'm not too sure how long it lasts for so would get down to you nearest counter as soon as possible if you hope to get your hands on one. 

Contents of the bag 

Day Wear Advanced Multi-Protection Anti-Oxidant cream

Advanced Night Repair Eye

Advanced Night Repair Serum 

Sumptuous Extreme Lash Multiplying Volume Mascara

Pure Colour lipstick in Pink Parfait 61

Pure Colour gloss in Rock Candy 09

Pure Colour eyeshadow duo in 01 Pink Flash and 63 Tempting Mocha

Does anybody else love when you can an surprise gift with purchase?

Monthly Favorites...

I don't have a lot of favorites this month so can keep this short and sweet. 

Johnson's Daily essentials refreshing gel - I am an avid fan of wash off cleanser, yes I admit I am lazy. I like to have one in the shower at all times to take of my make-up and cleanse in the morning. Now this is nothing fancy but it dose a job and it does it well. It takes off all my make-up and it has never broken me out. It's also a beauty steal and for those reasons I won't be changing it up next month either.

Bed-Head TIGI urban anti-dotes level 3- These are the salon sizes that I picked up in Tkmaxx and have lasted me ages. I think they were around £13 each. I love the strawberry smell and always get compliments on how nice my hair smells. I have these in level 3 which is for super damaged hair (they come in a level 1,2,3) which mine is as it is bleached and heat styled. The conditioner is a little thinner in consistency than I would normally like but it seems to be working. They make my hair really soft and manageable and I notice the difference when I change back to a drug store brand. I have already repurchased both of these. 

Neutrogena Multi-Defence daily moistriser - This is my HG moisturiser I have gone through about 5 of these which as most of you can relate to as a product junkie, is no mean feat. It's just perfect for going underneath make-up as it is super light weight. It sinks into the skin effortlessly. It also claims to protect from 5 main environmental damaging effects which is what drew me to this product in the first place. I don't think the product gets as much love as it deserves. 

I haven't been loving anything consistently this month and have been chopping and changing a lot so make-up wise my favorites this month are few and far between;

Mac Cheek and Lip colour in Lazy Sunday- I blogged about this here. I have been reaching for this as my main lip colour since I brought it. 

L'oreal top coat in Confettis- I also blogged this here. Now this is my favorite find of the month I have worn it on my nail consistently and keep looking at it. There has been so many new nail innovations in the last couple of years which I brought into at first and then trailed off so this is the first kind of nail effect I have tried in a while and I am hooked!

Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil in 001 dark brown- Having always has blonde hair and fairly dark eyebrows I never wanted to highlight this further. Until this month that is, I have become a fan of the bold brow and really think is changes the overall look. This has been doing the job perfectly. 

Other random favorites this month have been my Yankee candle in Be Thankful which smells divine and also my Michael Kors watch which I blogged about here. 

I hope everyone has had a really nice relaxing weekend mine has consisted of uni work being in my final year of uni with exams ever looming (eeeeeek). 

What have you been loving in the month of Febraury?

Models Own Ice Neon Collection...

Models own are launching this ice neon collection I am really excited about this because it is something so fresh and new. They are similar to glow sticks in that you have to keep them in the fridge in order to keep their neon glow. There release date is 20th March online but can pre-order online from 1st March. I'm excited about seeing these in store to see how bright they really are, I am more likely to wear the pink and purple not sure I can pull of highlighter yellow. 

Is anybody else going to try these?

Revlon Nearly Naked 130 shell Review ...

I was really excited when I heard about the launch of  Revlons Nearly Naked foundation . While I used to be a big fan of high coverage foundations and still am to an extent I have become a lot more willing to try a more dewey finish. I like to wear a full coverage foundation as I have very rosy cheeks which I hate. I picked this up in the shade shell 130. For reference in Mac I am NC15 in winter and NC20 in summer. So with excitement I have been putting this on for the lat two mornings. 

Now I feel like I am going against the grain on the first thing which is that I didn't get the lovely dewey finish others have had. Honestly I was really disappointed about that. Although I have come to the conclusion  that it may be because my skin is really dry at the moment and that's why. I have attempted to mix it with a moisturiser this morning which did give a better result.

 Left to right : Cheek in direct daylight, Cheek in direct daylight with Revlon Nearly Naked, Cheek in indoor light with Revlon Nearly Naked

On a more positive note I think the coverage is rather good considering it is supposed to be a light foundation. The photo of me wearing the foundation in daylight doesn't quite do it justice, it actually covers more than it lets on in the photo.  I do feel it was slightly less detectable than other foundation that I have. The coverage I would say is quite buildable and I was able to apply more where needed which I always like to be able to do. In terms of the wear of this foundation I didn't find that it wore off throughout the day. I don't have oily skin so I'm not sure how this would fair for those of you who do. The price of this is really reasonable and most definitely a really decent foundation for the price. For many I am sure it will become a firm favorite. There has been a lot of talk about there being no pump I personally don't mind this as am used to my double wear foundation not having one but can see how for some people this would be annoying.  

Overall score 

Coverage 4/5

Dewey finish 3/5

Longevity 3/5

Packaging 4/5

Price 5/5

Has anyone else tried this yes?